All Aboard!

Continuing the train theme this week, I took a roundtrip ride on Amtrak’s Acela to and fro Philadelphia for a client meeting earlier today.

I forgot how quick and smooth the ride is, when all goes well.

I also forgot how slow regular cars on regular roads can be.

The ride from Philadelphia to Newark on Amtrak’s Acela (a speedy train)…59 minutes.

The car ride from Newark to my home…55 minutes.

According to MapQuest, Philadelphia to Newark is about 84 miles. Also according to MapQuest, Newark Penn Station is 9.91 miles from my home, which, again, according to MapQuest, should take 22 minutes.

I could have gone back to Philadelphia in the time it took me to get home.

There wasn’t so much standstill traffic as you would think. The drivers roundabout route kept us moving, just for a long, long time.